Arlington Town Day is about a month and a half away and I’m trying to come up with a new name for my revamped and overhauled craft business. I’ve been tossing about a number of ideas in my head, but two seem to stick around. Which, if either, do you think would sound like a good name for a business that’s trying to bring crocheted fashions out of the Dark Ages (without going art fag)?

The Hook Brings You Back

Crowe Shea (yeah, I’ve spent too much time in an area that relies heavily on word play)

The economy sucks. You know it. I know it. So, as a small business owner, this is what I’m not going to do about it:

I will not introduce any new product… unless it has been well researched and I see that there is a definite demand for it.

I will not increase my marketing budget. Making more folks aware of my presence will not necessarily increase my sales. Instead I will keep my budget as is and use cheap and creative methods to draw attention.

On a related note: I will not use the word “stimulus” in any form of advertising. If it hasn’t helped the economy, it sure as hell isn’t going to help me. I’m so sick of the word that if I see it in an ad one more time I swear I’m going to scream!

I will not cut my prices. I offer quality goods at fair prices, and will not devalue them (or myself) by price slashing.

I will not treat my customers like shit. This is, IMHO, the most important. Yet it is the one thing most businesses (large and small) seem to have forgotten. In this economy customers are looking to get the most out of their money. Being treated well is part of it, and being polite doesn’t cost me a dime.

Okay, since my online store had pretty much beem kaput, I had been planning on closing up shop. In fact for about a month the site was essentialy down because I hadn’t paid my annual fee on time to keep the store’s domain active. Yet, in the past week since the store’s been back up (in “view only mode”), I’ve received about a half dozen notifications for subscription sign ups. Add to that the fact that last night I had a total stranger come up to me at Ottoson Middle School’s Open House and ask me if I was the Mistress of the Bishi Harem, I’m now starting to wonder if closing the store is such a good idea. I’m toying with the idea of keeping the site up as a display, but going back to eBay to do most of my sales. I may be giving up more money, but then I’ll be selling more, too.

In other news, never buy a Ford Taurus. You may recall an earlier post where I mentioned that after the fuel pump and filter had been replaced, the car suddenly stopped knocking. Well, it started back up again a few weeks ago, followed by the engine light coming on a week and a half ago. As the engine light came on a week prior to the fuel pump dying I thought it would be a good idea to get the car hooked up to a computer and figure out what the hell is wrong. According to the computer the car is running lean. File that under “I could’ve figured that out”. In fact I did. Our only problem is that the computer can’t tell us where the extra air is getting in. Our mechanic spent a good hour going over every section of the engine area, looking for a leak. Apparently it is well hidden. Even if the part that needs to be replaced is cheap, it’s going to take forever to find it, meaning major labor fees. This fucking car better live long enough to see 200,000 miles!

Ben goes back to school tomorrow. Jarret, the next day. Mom has a bottle of vodka an some Mountain Dew stashed for that party Thursday morning.

Been busy getting back into my old routine. I found it very hard to accomplish much of anything that didn’t require my computer, as I was regularly tripping over teenagers. Today I managed to 86 a bunch of stuff, found the missing forks (someone had been putting them in the main compartment of the dishrack, burying them with plates and bowls, then not putting said plates and bowls away when they dried…. for about a week), chiseled off some of the soap that somehow manages to accumulate on the bathroom soap dish at an alarming rate, and got myself looking presentable.

I discovered I really need to pick up a pair of Bluettes.

I have been able to further tweak my laundry method. Now that they’ve fixed the entrance to the atttic so that it no longer requires a screwdriver and a prayer to use it, I found the 16 gallon bucket I had in storage and have been using that to soak the laundry before indiviually agitating items in the 5 gallon bucket, then rinsing everything in the big one (twice), again. I’m getting much more clothing washed at a time; I just need to adjust the timing so it isn’t taking me an hour to get it done. But even when it takes that long it feels good to be able to get my clothes so clean (and with minimal impact on the environment, too!).

Miss “Wicca is whatever I want it to be” is apparently hoping to sic her friends on me. Excuse me while I shit myself. *rolls eyes*

My tummy is trying to decide between a ham “sammich” and M&Ms.

I shall (hopefully) spend tonight making new price labels for my macrame jewelry. If I’m done tonight then tomorrow I’ll make those headbands.